Indictments Expected Against Disgraced Mass. Chemist

By Denise Lavoie November 27, 2012

Annie Dookhan, center, leaves a Boston courthouse escorted by court officers and her lawyer on Oct 10. (Josh Reynolds/AP File)

BOSTON — In a court document, Massachusetts prosecutors say indictments are expected against a former state chemist accused of tampering with evidence in drug cases.

Annie Dookhan was charged in September with obstruction of justice and falsifying her academic credentials. An assistant attorney general said at the time that the charges were “preliminary” and that a “much broader” investigation was being conducted.

On Tuesday, a Boston Municipal Court judge granted a motion filed by state Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office asking that a pretrial hearing scheduled for Dec. 3 be rescheduled to Dec. 20. In the motion, prosecutors said the continuance was being sought because “a grand jury investigation is on-going with indictments expected” after Dec. 3.

Dookhan hasn’t responded to repeated requests for comment.

Gov. Patrick Orders ‘File-By-File Review’ Of Chemist’s Cases

gardenia

This woman committed a crime. Was it some kind of sabotage? Who is she? What is her life background? She knew what she was doing but does not say why she commended people to longer/worse punishments.
She deserves a long jail sentence herself. Plus, everyone associated with her in the Lab has lots of questions to answer, especially her supervisor.
- jo
  
  Yes, where was the over sight of her work? It’s mind boggling to think one person can cause so much damage. The system the state has obviously has holes. I guess that shouldn’t be surprising.
  - Jack
    
    This just doesn’t make sense to me. Why did she do this? What was her end game? What was in it for her, except an indictment if caught and some serious jail time if convicted? The state has much to answer for here, but it seems the state (i.e., our Governor and JackAG) would prefer to make one misguided chemist the scapegoat for a poorly run operation with lax oversight.